Enigma of Shiro Utsuri Part 5

This is probably the most successful shiro utsuri I have so far because it has won in Utsurimono Category 2nd prize in 2005(photo A & C), two times 3rd prize in 2006(seperate koi shows), and 2nd prize in 2008. The most noticeable change of this shiro utsuri is the motoguro. When it was tosai about 30cm, the motoguro is perfect but at the age of 4 yrs old, the motoguro became the major setback of this fish during koi show.However, due to its lacquer black sumi,clean shiroji and rounded body, this fish still win 2nd prize in 75BU(73cm) Utsurimono Category as shown in photo B. As a whole, this is still a good shiro utsuri and not that many shiro utsuri can maintain its quality for a few years and continuously win in a few koi shows. I believe, this koi will touch 80cm by next year koi show in 2009. By the way this koi is for SALE BY NEW OWNER.

Enigma of Shiro Utsuri Part 4

The main thing I would like to stress about this shiro is that it is a female fish with constantly changing head pattern and very slow growth rate. At the point of writing, this fish is about 45cm and it has just won 3rd Prize in the 7th Malaysia Koi Show and Championship. Some other shiro utsuri from the same batch has grown between 50cm to 60cm. So this fish has just proved that not all female fishes can grow big/rapidly. In fact, some of the males grew much bigger than this female shiro. Although they came from the same bloodlines, they don't share the same body structure and quality as well as eating habit. Those fishes with good eating habit and body structure tend to grow faster and bigger and not very much affected by the sex of the fish.
Generally, females tend to grow bigger but provided that it has good body structure and eating habit as well as good bloodlines.
In photo A, the sumi on the head is heavy and looks as if it is fading. True enough, it faded a little and the pattern on the head changed as shown in photo B. The head became more white and it continues to change. I will try to post a newer photo later to show further changes of sumi pattern on the head.

Enigma of Shiro Utsuri Part 3

This shiro utsuri comes from the same batch as the shiro utsuri shown in Part 2. However, the sumi development of this shiro utsuri is exactly the opposite even though they came from the same parent namely Musashi.At initial stage, the background of this shiro is pale white and greyish black sumi pattern as seen in photo A.When this koi grow to nissai,the sumi finishes quite well at the tail section and the sumi slowly become more solid gradually towards the shoulder section and subsequently on the head as shown in photo B. I wonder how many shiro utsuri as shown in photo A will develop and become the shiro shown in photo B. In fact, many shiro utsuri from the same batch the sumi tend to fade or the sumi remains sunken at the age of two or three regardless of the sex of the koi.
Some said that the sumi of male Shiro Utsuri tend to emerge earlier than females and vice versa. I have also heard that those fishes with thick sumi at early age will not grow as fast as those with pale sumi (hidden sumi). I personally think that these two statements are not true after having the experience in raring more than 300 shiro utsuri mainly from a few batches of Omosako bred Shiro Utsuri. However, I observed that shiro utsuri with nice pattern and sumi are usually males. That is why most people claimed those shiro with nice black and pattern when young usually grows slower because they are mainly males. It is quite obvious that those females with nice pattern and sumi have been picked by the breeder as their tategoi and of course they tend to grow bigger. Only those female shiro without clearly defined nice black pattern or sumi that has no indication that it will become better, we can own it for a much lower price but a lot more risks compared to what the breeder has picked as their tategoi.
It became very clear to me that small shiro without outstanding sumi and pattern as well as body structure will be sold by the breeder as tosai. Out of these tosai, very few females will turn out to be good unless you are the lucky one.In my case I bought these shiro utsuri in-bulk(300 pieces or more) and a lot of effort is required to grow and sex them as they grow bigger. Not forgetting those cosmetic work required to remove the red spots that appear on the skin of shiro utsuri that needs a lot of hardwork and patience. Ultimately, shiro utsuri came from showa bloodline and that is why red spots can easily appear and especially if it is fed with colour food.
So if you want a safer bet, buy shiro utsuri that are two years old which is more stable but this does not mean that it will be a perfect bet as you still have to take some risks and also much higher purchase price.

Enigma of Shiro Utsuri Part 2

Out of 500 pcs of Musashi Shiro Utsuri offsprings brought in by SPKC in 2006, I have picked roughly about 100 pcs from that batch. This shiro is the fastest growing shiro out of 100 pcs I purchased. At the age of two, it measured about 58cm and at the point of writing(April,2008), it measures about 75cm at the age of 3 yrs old. The growth rate is unbelievable for a shiro utsuri, mainly due to the Musashi bloodline that has a very long and thick body.
In photo A, the sumi of this fish is pretty well-developed with nice menware that looks like it might join with the kuchi zumi(black lips) but somehow that never happened. The black on this shiro faded instead of having more developing sumi as seen in photo B. This is an indication that the fish is still young and the black is still unstable and I am quite certain that the black will reemerge when the fish becomes more mature.The motoguro have also disappeared to my amazement. I had a chat with Omosako's eldest son, Takayoshi Omosako, he told me that in order to justify whether the sumi quality of the shiro is good or not, look at the existing black on the gill cover. If there is strong black on the gill cover, the sumi on the body will most likely appear to be good at a later age. This is just one possible way to determine the sumi development and nothing is CERTAIN. Even the breeder himself cannot be sure whether the fish will develop well or become a champion fish but of course with their experience and sharp eyes as well as careful/in-depth observations of their parents koi (bloodline) and the characteristic of the offsprings, they can most likely pick the better pieces as their tategoi.The shiro shown above will most likely touch 80cm by the end of this year(2008)if given the right conditions that favour the development of this fish. Perhaps, I will post photo C later just to show you the development of the fish on the same post.

Enigma of Shiro Utsuri Part 1

I would like to share my experiences about the enigma of shiro utsuri in a series of different shiro utsuri for each post. I will discuss the important aspects of judging good shiro utsuri and predict the sumi and shiroji development. As you can see,koi in photo A,B,C, and D are the same shiro utsuri at different stages of growth.

Many might say, shiro utsuri with pure black pectoral fins, black tail, and heavy sumi on the head is not good at all as seen in photo A and B.But at a later stage, as seen in photo C, the sumi disappear/faded but the head still seems a little yellowish. In the same photo, the sumi at the tail section and pectoral fins disappeared as well. In fact, the motoguro became so much nicer and it receded to about half the length of the pectoral fins.Ideally, for either showa or shiro utsuri variety, it is good to have 1/2 to 1/3 of motoguro relative to the full length of the pectoral fins.

The striking sumi pattern on the head of photo B can fully disappear as seen in photo C & D. Wondering if the sumi will reappear? The chances are 50%/50% in my honest opinion depending on water parameters. With the right PH,carbonate hardness, and no sudden major changes of fresh water intake to the pond, it will probably help the sumi to reemerge. The process may take months or years but if you are lucky it may appear in a few weeks.

In photo D, the white base on the head is almost snow white unlike photo A & B. So why are you afraid of picking shiro utsuri with yellow head when it is young? It is a risk that we have to take if we rare tosai shiro utsuri. It may or may not turn out to be good. Assuming if you were to buy a stable sumi and white shiro utsuri about 2 or 3 years old with decent pattern, probably it is the best piece out of 20 pieces you bought when they were tosai(one year old fish). So the success rate of getting a good shiro utsuri regardless of sex from tosai is approximately 5% to 10% assuming if you were to buy in-bulk. If we expect to pick only good female shiro utsuri with decent pattern, then the percentage would drop to about 1% to 5%. In some cases, in order to get top class female shiro utsuri with very nice pattern,high quality,thick body structure, and show quality, probably 5 to 10 pieces out of over 300 shiro utsuri tosai that purchased in-bulk and that is only 0.017% to 0.03% respectively.

It may be easy to give negative feedbacks/comments on someone's female shiro utsuri but generally speaking it is still the top 5% to 10% of all shiro utsuri sold in the market. On top of that, do you have a better piece? If, yes how much did you pay for it? Out of how many shiro utsuri you bought are show winners? In a nutshell,in order to successfully keep good adult shiro utsuri from tosai, it requires a lot of patience,time,effort,skills, and money of course.

FOR SALE - Tamaura Tancho Showa

A natural round shape Tancho Showa with a black stripe across the red looks attractive. The sumi on the body are still kage sumi and most likely it will slowly emerge at a later age.Many may think the red spot on the head is too small. I personally think that it is not a problem at all and this fish can be a show fish provided that the sumi appears strongly throughout the whole body. Assuming if the red patch on the head is slightly larger than it is now, how much do you think this female Tancho Showa would costs you? Think again!!!

Size: 48cm

Sex: Female

Age: Nissai (2 yrs old)

Price: RM2200.00 (SOLD)

FOR SALE - Omosako Shiro Utsuri

Inazuma(Lightning pattern) shiro utsuri that looks so striking and very well-polished black. It looks like a male but at the time of checking the sex of the fish, I was not really sure. However, I am hoping that this shiro will turn out to be a female. This fish grows very slowly and I have always been keeping this fish thinking that it is a male. The luck is yours whether it will turn out to be a female at a later age. It has also won 3rd prize in Utsurimono 40bu category in the most recent Malaysia koi show and championship.

Size: 39cm

Sex: Unknown

Age: Nissai (2 yrs old)

Price: RM1500.00 (SOLD)

FOR SALE - Omosako Shiro Utsuri

This shiro utsuri is the biggest and fastest growing out of a lot of 120 pcs I bought in July 2006.Many turned out to have red fins,red eyes, and red patches on the body and majority are male fishes. I would say approximately 90% were males and many were given away or sold at a lost. The remaining females, only a handful turn out to have better sumi quality, good white base,structure and pattern. Some of them faded beyond recognition.Most of the female shiro utsuri from the same batch, they hardly touch 55cm or most of them below 50cm, while this shiro is touching 60cm (April, 2008). I seriously think that this is a jumbo shiro utsuri. It has won Best in Size 25BU Utusurimono in 2006 when I first purchased this fish and the one sided motoguro did not deter the judges from awarding this shiro Best in Size 25BU.
This shiro has very broad shoulder and a very unique black pattern that is hardly seen on a shiro utsuri especially the black patch on the shoulder that blends/matches well with the kuchi zumi (black nose). An interesting fish to add to your collection!!!

Size: 60cm

Sex: Female

Age: Nissai (2 yrs old)

Price: RM6500.00

FOR SALE - Omosako Shiro Utsuri

Look like a 4-step shiro utsuri depending on how you see it and it has very nice and clean motoguro. Slender body but I think it will bulk up at a later age. Its sumi is very shiny(good sheen) if you see the real fish. It won 3rd prize in 50BU Utsurimono Category in Malaysia Koi Show and Championship 2008.

Size: 51cm

Sex: Female

Age: Nissai (2 yrs old)

Price: RM3500.00

FOR SALE - Marusyo Ginrin Sanke

A textbook type of sanke pattern with very nice thick kata sumi (shoulder sumi) and even ginrin scales. A kohaku look alike pattern with well placed sumi. Overall, a very neat looking ginrin sanke. A slow grower but with good quality. It has also won 1st prize in Kinginrin Cateogry 45BU in the recent Malaysia koi show and championship 2008.

Size: 43cm

Sex: Female

Age: Nissai (2 yrs old)

Price: RM3000.00 (SOLD)

FOR SALE - Konishi Asagi

Clean and very even netting with light bluish scales are the highlight of this Asagi.
Clean head and nice red pectoral fins is an added beauty to this fish as well. It has won
1st Prize in Asagi/Shusui 35BU category in ZNA Malaysia Koi Show and Championship 2008.

Size: 32cm

Sex: unknown

Age: Tosai (1 yr old)

Price: RM800.00 (SOLD)

FOR SALE - Ogata Showa

Thick sumi and hi plate as well as balance pattern showa from Ogata. Clean motoguro with striking menware on the head. Very evenly coloured showa and all the three colours are well
distributed from head to tail. White pattern yet to emerge because the body has not bulk up yet.
At a later age, this showa will show off its shiroji assuming it is well taken care of under the right water conditions.

Size: 27cm

Sex: Unknown

Age: Tosai (1 yr old)

Price: RM1000.00 (SOLD)

FOR SALE - Tamaura Shiro Utsuri

A nice shiro with inazuma (lightning pattern) and the sumi on the head yet to emerge. It would be interesting to see how it will develop in the future. Nice body shape and very neat looking motoguro that makes this shiro meets the requirement of a shiro utsuri show koi. It has won 1st prize in Utsurimono Category in both ZNA Malaysia Koi Show in KL and Malaysia Wakagoi Show held in SPKC in year 2006. The right eye has a little red dot does not deter this fish from winning the show as it is just a minor flaw than can be easily over shadowed by its strong sumi pattern,pure white shiroji, and good structure.

Size: 55cm

Sex: Female

Age: Nissai ( 2 yrs old)

Price: RM2500.00

FOR SALE - Maruyama Kohaku

Grand Champion Kamiya Kohaku

This sandan kohaku is probably the most famous collection of mine.Please read my blog written in 2007 about this Grand Champion Maruyama for more details.This kohaku is bred by Maruyama Koi Farm, Japan. It comes from Kagura + Kamiya bloodline. Kamiya is the name of a kohaku that won Grand Champion bred by Murata. That kohaku was named after the owner called Kamiya.

Maruyama cross bred the Grand Champion Kamiya kohaku with his own Kagura bloodline and the result is this excellent kohaku and it won Grand Champion in 2006 Wakagoi Show(Young Koi Show) at Sentul Park, Kuala Lumpur. The body shape of this fish is quite similar to the mother.

The actual fish is not as red as shown in the photo. However, the fish grown from 63cm in 2006 September when it received the Grand Champion title to about 73cm in March 2008. It has grown 12 cm in about 18 months which is considered fast for fishes of this size and age. Once the fish touches 60cm, the growth rate usually slows down. Due to its pretty fast growing nature, the hi plate quality dropped and it didn't win any prize for 75BU kohaku category. This is a lesson learnt from the Malaysia 2008 koi show. However, I have the confidence of bringing back the quality of the red within a year and prepare it for the next koi show. This is a fish to watch out for the next koi show if nothing goes wrong and if everything goes as planned. By next year koi show, this fish is expected to be around 80cm. See if my foresight is right!!! :)

Size: 75cm

Sex: Female

Age: 4 years old (Yonsai)

Price: RM 60,000.00 (SOLD)